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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26098999">Oysters (And Other Bargaining Chips)</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/diabolica/pseuds/diabolica'>diabolica</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Hannibal (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Episode: s03e01 Antipasto, Gen, Missing Scene, Post-Season/Series 02, Pre-Season/Series 03, Unresolved Sexual Tension, bedannibal in paris</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-08-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 05:20:57</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>666</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26098999</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/diabolica/pseuds/diabolica</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>All new relationships are essentially a series of small negotiations. Aren’t they?</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Bedelia Du Maurier/Hannibal Lecter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>28</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Collections:</b></td><td>Hannibal Bingo</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Oysters (And Other Bargaining Chips)</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>This was written for my <a href="https://hannibalbingo.tumblr.com">Hannibal Bingo</a> card, for the prompt "oysters".</p><p>Sincere love and thanks to <a href="https://archiveofourown.org/users/dexstarr">dexstarr</a> for <strike>leading me into the underworld</strike> beta-reading.</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"If we are going to do this," Bedelia says—<i>live as husband and wife</i>, she means—"then I must set certain conditions." </p><p>They’ve been in Paris a week, mainly dining out, their routines not yet settled. They’re currently seated in the leafy courtyard of a Basque cafe whose coffee she likes and whose breakfast menu suits his tastes. Hannibal is dressed casually today, no tie, top button open. For him, this attire is practically obscene. He's put himself on display for her benefit. This makes her think now is a good time to have this discussion.</p><p>"Alright," he says. His tone indicates his meaning: <i>alright, let’s hear them</i>, and not <i>alright, I accept your conditions</i>. That would be too much to hope for.</p><p>She says, "First, I do not cook. Truthfully, I don't even know how." </p><p>"I do not allow anyone else to cook in my kitchen." He looks almost affronted. She wants to smile but keeps her face carefully neutral.</p><p>"I do not clean or do laundry, either." <i>I will not be that sort of wife</i>, she means. <i>I've spent too long creating myself to become domesticated now.</i></p><p>He cocks his head, dismissive. "Those items can be outsourced." <i>We can hire a cleaner</i>, he means. <i>There are laundry services.</i> "That is decidedly not what I expect from you."</p><p><i>Good</i>, she thinks. <i>We’re getting on the same page. </i></p><p>He leans forward, a hunger unrelated to his empty plate tightening the lines around his eyes. "Anything else?" he asks. <i>Sex</i>, he means. <i>Is sex also off the table?</i> She bookmarks that for later.</p><p>"Yes." She chooses her next words carefully. "I will not eat the meats of your table." She has noticed what is hanging in the pantry of their current residence, in the cool and dark, a stainless steel bowl underneath to catch the blood. He is testing her policy of non-judgement.</p><p>Hannibal acknowledges with a twist of his mouth that they have come to a sticking point. He sits back, sips his coffee. As a therapist he knows how to let a silence stretch.</p><p>Finally he says, "I thought you liked the veal I made for you."</p><p>She is also a therapist. A good one.</p><p>Faced with her continued silence, he relents. "Then what do you propose that I feed you, Bedelia? I cannot have you subsisting on wine and coffee indefinitely."</p><p><i>That was low</i>, she thinks. She must have wounded him. “We all have our vices,” she says, eyes narrowed. </p><p>He shrugs, a motion of his shoulder so slight that it can only mean <i>Touché</i>. "I would like to be able to cook for you," he says.</p><p>She picks up her coffee cup. "I like vegetables," she says. Immediately she can read contempt in his expression. <i>Vegetables are garnish</i>, his face says. <i>Vegetables are what prey animals eat</i>. That was a misstep; she doesn’t want his mind wandering in that direction. She sips the last of her coffee to disguise her irritation.</p><p>"Pulses. Grains," she continues. "I will also eat fish. As long as I can tell that it is fish." Each word has its precise inflection. </p><p>Now his lifted eyebrows show interest. "Shellfish?"</p><p>She can feel him bending towards her, can see him thumbing through recipes in his mind, placing certain dishes in the 'in' pile, others in the 'out.'</p><p>"Certainly," she says, as if making a concession. "Prawns, muscles."</p><p>He nods. He is willing to allow her this eccentricity. An impish grin. He asks, "How do you feel about oysters?"</p><p>Bedelia wants to roll her eyes. He really is belabouring the point. But she too has unsated appetites that she might as well indulge, considering how far they have taken this already. In view of where she now finds herself, and in what position. </p><p>She looks up at him and says, as casually as she can, "I like oysters."</p><p>He places both hands on the table. Time to return home. "Alright," he says, and she knows they have come to an understanding.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I love discussing these characters and I'm still getting to know them, so your thoughts and comments would be very much appreciated.</p><p>Come and say hello on <a href="https://plain-as-pandemonium.tumblr.com/">tumblr</a>!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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